Child and caregiver mental health during 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: findings from national repeated cross-sectional surveys.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There are calls for research into the mental health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia's initial, effective suppression of COVID-19 offers insights into these indirect impacts in the relative absence of the disease. We aimed to describe the mental health experiences of Australian caregivers and children over 12 months, reporting differences related to demographic, socioeconomic and lockdown characteristics.

Methods

Data were from Australia's only nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey of caregivers with children (0-17 years). N=2020 caregivers participated in June 2020, N=1434 in September 2020 and N=2508 in July 2021. Caregivers reported their mental health (poor vs not, Kessler-6), and perceived impacts of the pan

SUBMITTER: Price AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9341184 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature